Blank-bending machine



Sept. 18, 1928.

1,684,903 I A. L. YOUNG BLANK BENDING mcaxps 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June1, 1927 lNvENToR A'TTO RNEY Sept. 18, 1928.

A. L. YOUNG BLANK BENDING MACHINE Filed June 1. 192'! s Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTQR Patented Sept. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,684,903 PATENT OFFICE;

ARTHUR L. YOUNG, or PROVIDENCE, nnonn ISLAND.

' V BnAnK-Bnnnme MACHlTNEl.

Application filed June 1,

" This invention relates to certain'new and useful blank bendingmachines and relates more partioularlyto blanks employed in theformation of paper boxes and the like.

.5 The primary object of the invention is to provide improved means forbending first one set of side portions and secondly the opposite set ofside portions of the blank thereby to break or weaken the material andthus enable o the blank to be subsequently folded manually,

or otherwise, thereby to expedite the formation of the box.

More specifically, the invention aims to provide a machine of this kindwhich is not '5 only of simple construction, but which enables theblanks to be more expeditiously bent as stated in the foregoing.

The'invention has further and other objects which will be later setforth and manim fested in the course of the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the box blank, which latteris of common'form;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine;

Figure 3 is a side elevation;

Figure 4 is a section on line 14 of Fig. 2;

Figure 5 is a. detail view partly in section of the mechanism forguiding the blanks to the W final conveying belts;

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 2 showing the side guide forthe blanks;

Figure 7 is a detail view of one of the devices for restoring the bentedge of the blank to fiat position, and I Figure 8 is a fragmentary rearend eleva tion of Figure 7.

In proceeding in accordance with the pres ent invention, a frame 1 isemployed which has a table 2 thereon of substantially L-shape. At thefront end of the machine superposed endless belts 3 and 4t are mountedupon series of rollers 5 and 6. the end rollers being adj ustable bymeans of any form of belt tensioning devices such as illustrated at 7 inorder to take up the slack in the belts. Theupper belt 3 is flanked bybending devices 8, the bending devices'being adjustable laterally bymeans of screw and slot connections 9. Projecting rearwardly from eachof the bendingdevices are arms 10, which latter act as supports forstuds 11, the studs being secured to the arms by means of wing nuts 12.A finger 13 is secured to the'lower end of each of the studs '5 and isadjustable with the latter longitudinally of the arms by means of slots14 1927. Serial No.'195,680.

formed in the arms. It: will be understood that the belts 3 and 4 havetheir confronting flights arranged to grip the top and bottom faces ofthe blank and to move the latter by frictional contact therewith, and inorder to regulate the degree of such contact and to also enable thebelts to be used with blanks of varying thicknesses, the rollers 5 arepreferably journaled on carriers 15, and the latter are capable of beingadjustedso as to regulate the space between the confronting ends of thebelts by any suitable means, such'as the screw devices'16.

At the rear end of the conveyor, comprised of the belts 3 and 4, endlessbelts 17 are trained over series of pulleys 18 and 19 so as'to receivethe blanks from the belts 3 and 1. A compressor roller 20 overlies thehorizontal flights of the belts 17 and engages the blank, pressing sameagainst the belt 17. An endless transfer belt 21 is'mounted on rollers22 and is disposed at substantially right angles to the conveyor 34 andthe belts 17, and acts to transfer the blanks from the first conveyor toa second conveyor which latter is composed of super posed endless belts23 and 2% The belts 23 and 24 are mounted'on pulleys 25 and 26respectively, the endmostpulleys being provided with beltslack adjustingdevices '27 which may be of any suitable form. The spaces between theeonfronting'flights of the endless belts 23 and 24 may be regulated asdescribed in'connection with the belts 3 and 4 by means of screw controldevices 28 as shown in Figure 2. r

A long guide 29 is mounted on the frame of the machine and is adjustabletoward and from" the belt 21 by means of a screw and slot connection 30.The guide 29 is disposed on the outer sideof the belt 21, and a shorterguide 31 is mounted on the'opposite side of the belt 2l.and to the rearof the belts 17, the guide/31 being disposed opposite to the inner sidesof'the belts 17. The guide 31 is capable of lateral adjustments by meansof a screw and slot connection'32 and carries asubstant-ially J-shapearm 33 which is adjustable toward and from the belts 17 by means of ascrew and slot connection 34. Itwillbe obvious from the foregoing thatthe guides 29, 31 and 33 can be adjusted to accommodate blanks ofvarying sizes. Opposed blank edge bending devices 35 are arrangedonopposite sides ofthe secondcon veyor composed of the endless belts 23and 24; and arelate'rally' adjustableby means of the machine and has oneend of a bar or rod The bar 38 overlies the 38 secured thereto. belt 21and extends downwardly at an angle toward the conveyor 23-24:. Theoppositeend of the rod or bar 38 is provided with a hook 39 engaged inan eye 40 provided therefor, so as to thus support the rod in position.

The rod or bar 38 constitutes a guide which effects movement of theshafts of the 3 and 4 in unison.

acts to engage and unfold the bent edges of the blanks so as to directthe latter intoengagement betweenthe belts 23' and 24, as

shown more clearly in Figure 5.

As shownin Figure 3, the machine may be driven by a motor 40 whichthrough means of a belt -11 drives a pulley 42, the latter in turn beingconnected to a smaller pulley 43. A. belt lel is trained over the pulley43 and drives a larger pulley45 mounted on a shaft 46.' The shaft 46 hasa pulle 47 mounted thereon which by means of a elt 48 drives the shaft49 011 which the rollers 18 of the belts 17 are mounted, as shown inFigure 4. The rear roller 22 of the belt 21 is mounted on a shaft 50which latter is driven by miter gearing 51 from the shaft 46. Thebelt-23 is driven by a shaft 52 through miter gearing 53 which latter isoperated by the shaft 46. The shafts of the belts 23 and 24 are operatedin unison by means of gears 54 as shown in Figure 3 and similar gearing155 e ts In operation, a' blank is engaged with the first conveyor 34and has its opposed side edges 61 bent downwardly. The blank is thencaused to move by the conveyor into engagement with the fingers 13whichilatter enter under the bent edges of the blank and restore thelatter to their ori inal fiat position as shown in Figure 1. T e blankedges are thus first moved downwardly and then upwardly, weakening sameat the line of. bend or fold. The blank is then engaged by the belts 17and passes under the compressor roller 20, the belts 17 being drivenat ahigh rate of speed sufficient to move the blank onto the transfer belt21 before the edges of the blank can be turned upwardly. The blank isthenengaged with the guide 38 as shown in Figure 5, and due to thedownward inclination of the guide,the latter will engage and mainingside edges bent, the fingers 13 and the wire 38, as well asthe conveyor23--24 acting to ive the bent edges of the blanks a series of bendingmovements to thus weaken the line of fold or bend, thereby facilitatingor expediting the bendingof the blank edges when the blank is beingformed into a box.

Having thus described my invention what zontal fingers carried by thestuds for restoring the bent edges into the plane of the blank body,'asecond blank! conveyor arranged at substantially right angles to thefirst conveyor, a transfer conveyor, an endless belt between the firstand transfer conveyors, a compressor roller associated with the belt,said transfer conveyortransferring the blanks from the belt to thesecond conveyor, opposed bending means for bending the other side edgesof the blankarranged on opposite sides of the second conveyor, blankguides-associated with the transfer conveyor for guiding the blanks tothe second conveyor, a member having an inclined end disposed betweenthe guides for engaging and moving the first named bent side edges ofthe blank so as to be engaged by the second conveyor, and means tooperate the conveyors.

2. In a blank bending machine, a conveyor, blank bending meansassociated with the'conveyor for bending opposed sideedges of a'blank, asecond conveyor arranged at substantially right angles to the firstconveyor, bending means for bending the other side edges of the blankassociated with the second conveyor, means to transfer the blanks fromthe first to the second conveyor, means to unfold the first bent edgesdisposed adjacent to the transfer means, blank, guides be-' tween thetransfer and second conveyors, and means between the guides to engagethe blanks and to unfold the first bent edges so as to guide same to thesecond conveyor;

In a blank bending machine, a pair of conveyors having a substantiallyright angular relat1on, bend1ng means associated; with each conveyorwhereby to initially bend two opposed side edges of the blank andsubsequently the remaining side edges, fingers arranged to turn theinitially bent edges about their lines of bend, a transfer conveyorbetween the palrof conveyors, and a horizontal guide element? overlyingthe transfer conveyor and inclined toward the'secondconveyor of the pairof conveyors to bend the said mitially bent side edges so as to engag:

same with the said second conveyor to moved thereby. 1 a

4. In a blank. bending machine, a blank llll nosrecs conveyor, meansassociated with the conveyor for bending opposed side edges of a blank,

a second blank conveyor arranged at an angle to the first conveyor, :1transfer conveyor adj acent to the second conveyor, means to move theblanks from the first conveyor onto the transfer conveyor, means tounfold the initially bent edges of the blank and. todirect the blankonto the second conveyor, means associated with the second conveyor forbending the other side edges of the blank, and means to operate theconveyors.

5. In a blank bending machine, a blank conveyor, means associated withthe conveyor for bending opposed side edges of a blank, a second blankconveyor arranged at an angle to the first conveyor, atransfer conveyoradjacent to the second conveyor, an endless belt conveyor to move theblanks from the first conveyor onto the transfer conveyor, a rollerabove said belt conveyor to press the blanks against the belt conveyor,means associated with the second conveyor for bending the other sideedges of the blanks, and means to operate the conveyors.

6. In a blank bending machine, a blank conveyor, means associated withthe conveyor for bending opposed side edges of a blank, a sec- 0ndconveyor disposed at an angle to the first conveyor, means associatedwith the second conveyor to bend the other side edges of the blank, anendless belt for receiving the blanks from the first conveyor, meansengaging on top of the blanks to hold same on said belt, a secondendless belt at an angle toand for receiving the blanks from the firstbelt and for transferring same to the second conveyor, and a memberoverlying the second belt and extending downwardly at an incline towardthe second conveyor to unfold the initially bent edges of the blank andto direct the blanks onto the second conveyor.

7. In a blank bending machine,'a pair of angularly related conveyorseach including a pair of superposed endless belts, means associated withthe conveyors for initially bending two opposed side edges of the blankand subsequently for bending the two remaining side edges, an endlessbelt for receiving the blanks from one of the conveyors, means overlyingthe belt for holding the blanks on the latter, a second endless belt atan angle to the.

first belt for receiving the blanks from the first belt and fortransferring same to the other conveyor, and a member overlying thesecond belt and having a part extending downwardly at an incline towardthe second conveyor to unfold the initially bent side edges of the blankand to direct the blank between the endless bclts of the said secondconveyor.

8. In a blank bending machine, a pair of conveyors having asubstantially right angular relation, bending means associated with eachconveyor whereby to initially bend two opposed side edges of the blankand subsequently the remaining side edges, ieans arranged to turn theinitially bent edges about their lines of bend, a transfer conveyorbetween the pair of conveyors, and a horizontal guide element overlyingthe transfer conveyor and inclined toward the second conveyor of thepair of conveyors to bend the said initially bcntside edges so as toengage same with the said second conveyor to be moved thereby.

9. In a blank bending machine, a blank conveyor, means associated withthe conveyor for bending opposed side edges of a blank, a secondconveyor disposed at an angle to the first conveyor, means associatedwith the second conveyor to bend the other side edges of the blank, athird conveyor to receive the blanks from the first conveyor, a transferconveyor to receive the blanks from the third conveyor and to move sameonto the second conveyor, and means associated witn the transferconveyor to unfold the initially bent edges of the blank and to directthe latter onto the second conveyor.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR L. YOUNG.

